Soul of the living room

Wanneer: 23 may 2026 - 20 june 2026

In the exhibition Soul of the Living Room, CBK Zuidoost presents the latest acquisitions from its lending collection. This selection demonstrates how art can not only enrich a space but also give meaning to the way we relate to that place.

The living room in the title of this exhibition is not bound to a single location. It can be found in the Bijlmer, in Amsterdam, elsewhere in the Netherlands, or anywhere else in the world. Here, the living room serves as a metaphor for the feeling of ‘home’: a place that exists both physically and mentally, and which holds a unique meaning for everyone.

Home

Home has many meanings. It can be a geographical location—the country where you were born or where your citizenship lies. It is also the place where you reside, live, and work, where family and friends gather, and where memories are made. At the same time, home transcends the tangible. It is a sense of safety, recognition, and comfort. It is precisely this personal and sometimes elusive feeling that forms the starting point of this exhibition.

Art can play an important role in strengthening that sense of home. The presence of an artwork gives a space soul and depth, adding a layer that extends beyond aesthetics, imagination, or economic value. Art can bring warmth, evoke memories, open conversations, and visualize ideals. In an era where social values are under pressure, art offers space for reflection and can provide a powerful counterweight.

Super-diverse society

This concept is made visible through the new acquisitions in this exhibition. At the same time, the works on display are characteristic of the CBK Zuidoost lending collection, which distinguishes itself through its intercultural perspective. The collection reflects a multitude of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. This diversity is expressed not only in the themes but also in the use of materials and the variety of styles. As such, the collection aligns with the reality of a super-diverse society, in which different stories exist alongside and through one another.

The lending collection invites people to give art a place in daily life—in the living room, the workplace, or other personal environments. In this way, each work continually gains a new context and can contribute to one’s own personal sense of home. In Soul of the Living Room, art is therefore much more than decoration: it is a carrier of meaning, identity, and connection.

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